Churches sold to compensate victims

A Roman Catholic diocese in Canada's eastern province of Newfoundland will sell all of its churches and missions to come up with the money to compensate the victims of sexual assault by a priest.

The Catholic Diocese of St George's said it would sell about 150 properties to raise $US10.5 million ($A13.58 million) for the victims of Father Kevin Bennett, who was convicted in 1990 of hundreds of sexual assaults over three decades as a priest on the west coast of the island.

"Everything," Bishop Douglas Crosby said.

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"All of the churches, all of the parish houses, all the missions."

Bennett pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison in the early 1990s. Now retired and in his 70s, he continues to draw a church pension.

His 39 victims launched a civil suit in 1991, claiming damages from Bennett, some of his superiors, the western Newfoundland diocese of St George's and the church as a whole.

The case was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, which upheld the right of victims to sue their diocese.

Early this year, St George's became the first Catholic diocese in Canada to seek bankruptcy protection as a result of sexual abuse claims.

Accounting firm Ernst and Young was then brought in to review finances and come up with a settlement proposal.

Faced with $US40 million ($A51.72 million) in claims, the only alternative was outright bankruptcy, Crosby said.

Greg Stack, the lawyer for 37 of the 39 boys abused by Bennett, said they would accept the settlement offer when an official vote took place on May 25.

"The amount of the settlement is almost secondary," Stack said.

"It's been 16 years since this court action was started. I mean, they're just happy that it's over."

If all goes according to plan, victims could receive funds by late June or early July.

Other church organisations have been bankrupted by abuse claims, including the Christian Brothers of Canada and the Anglican diocese of Cariboo in British Columbia.

The diocese will have to put all of its savings and investments toward the settlement along with the properties.

It's unclear whether insurers will cover some of the settlement costs.